Let’s get one thing straight: Old Dominion has won the CMA vocal group award every year since 2018. Every. Single. Year. Five years running. This isn’t just success; it’s statistical anomaly, a genre-defining chokehold that begs the question: Is country music celebrating its best, or just perpetually recycling its safest bets?
The Real Story: Dominance or Stagnation?
While Old Dominion is gearing up to celebrate a decade of their debut album, ‘Meat and Candy,’ at the 59th Annual CMA Awards – a retrospective, not a forward-looking launch – the industry should be asking tougher questions. We’re told they’ve been ‘Making Good Time,’ even through the ‘tough years.’ Tough for whom, precisely? Certainly not for the band consistently scooping up the top accolades while new talent fights for a sliver of the spotlight. Their consistent wins paint a picture of an industry perhaps more comfortable with predictability than genuine innovation or a level playing field.
Ten years on ‘Meat and Candy’ is a milestone, yes, but also a potential albatross. While other artists are pushing boundaries, Old Dominion’s sustained triumph suggests a system that rewards established comfort zones. Is the country music landscape so devoid of other worthy vocal groups that the same band must receive the same honor year after year? Or is it a testament to a well-oiled machine, meticulously managed to maintain a perpetual presence at the top, regardless of evolving tastes or emerging competition?
“You see the same faces, the same names, year after year at these awards,” one Nashville insider, who preferred to remain anonymous to protect their career, grumbled recently. “It’s like Groundhog Day. There are incredible artists out there, but if you don’t fit the mold, or you’re not part of the inner circle, good luck getting a look-in. Old Dominion’s great, don’t get me wrong, but their perpetual wins just highlight how insular this whole system has become.”
Why It Matters: Following the Money and the Message
This isn’t merely about who gets a shiny trophy; it’s about the economic power and influence that comes with it. Consistent awards mean consistent airplay, consistent touring revenue, and consistent leverage within the industry. Old Dominion talks about ‘growth of country music’ while touring with Alexandra Kay and making their rounds at the CMA Awards 2025. But whose growth is truly being nurtured? Is it organic, diverse growth, or is it a reinforced ecosystem benefiting a select few who have mastered the art of playing the industry’s long game?
The money here is in the sustained visibility, the guaranteed bookings, and the album sales bolstered by constant validation. When one act dominates the awards for half a decade, it sends a clear, if unspoken, message: this is what success looks like, this is who gets rewarded. For aspiring artists, it’s either an impossible standard to meet or a clear sign to conform, stifling the very creativity that could genuinely propel the genre forward. The ‘tough years’ for others are merely lucrative years for those who already hold the gold.
The Bottom Line: A Predictable Future?
The danger isn’t that Old Dominion is a bad band; it’s that their unchallenged reign represents a predictable, perhaps even complacent, era for country music. If the CMA Awards become a self-fulfilling prophecy, perpetually crowning the same champions, the genre risks alienating new audiences hungry for fresh sounds and original voices. The current trajectory points to an industry content to celebrate its past and present darlings, potentially sacrificing its future relevance in the process. Expect the same narrative, the same faces, until the audience decides it’s had enough of the replay.
